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judith solomon

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I am a developmental psychologist with special interests in the attachment and caregiving systems. I am also a licensed clinical psychologist, specializing in work with parents and young children. I am best known for my theoretical contributions and empirical research on disorganization of attachment and caregiving, representational models, and the effects of separation and divorce on young children.
Address: Stratford, Connecticut, United States

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Loredana Lucarelli

University of Cagliari

Alessandro Giuliani

Istituto Superiore di Sanità

Elisabet Solheim

Mills College at Northeastern University

Monica Torreiro-Casal

Geoffrey Goodman

Long Island University

University of Ottawa | Université d'Ottawa

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Papers by judith solomon

The Attachment Doll Play Assessment: Predictive Validity with Concurrent Mother-Child Interaction and Maternal Caregiving Representations

Frontiers in psychology, 2016

Attachment is central to the development of children's regulatory processes. It has been asso... more Attachment is central to the development of children's regulatory processes. It has been associated with developmental and psychiatric health across the life span, especially emotional and behavioral regulation of negative affect when stressed (Schore, 2001; Schore and Schore, 2008). Assessment of attachment patterns provides a critical frame for understanding emerging developmental competencies and formulating treatment and intervention. Play-based attachment assessments provide access to representational models of attachment, which are regarded in attachment theory as the central organizing mechanisms associated with stability or change (Bowlby, 1969/1982; Bretherton and Munholland, 2008). The Attachment Doll Play Assessment (ADPA, George and Solomon, 1990-2016; Solomon et al., 1995) is a prominent established representational attachment measure for children aged early latency through childhood. This study examines the predictive validity of the ADPA to caregiving accessibilit...

The disorganized attachment-caregiving system: Dysregulation of adaptive processes at multiple levels

For all objects and experiences, rhere is a quantity that has an optimum value. Above that quanti... more

Disorganization of Maternal Caregiving Across Two Generations: The Origins of Caregiving Helplessness

Internal working models of caregiving and security of attachment at age six

Tradition-a Journal of Orthodox Jewish Thought, 1989

Abstract This study describes the relation between internal working models of caregiving, child a... more

The development of caregiving: A comparison of attachment theory and psychoanalytic approaches to mothering

Psychoanalytic Inquiry, 1999

The development of attachment in separated and divorced families

Attachment & Human Development, 1999

This study represents the first systematic investigation of the effects on infant attachment to m... more This study represents the first systematic investigation of the effects on infant attachment to mother and to father of the increasingly common practice of overnight visitation (time-sharing) with the father in separated and divorced families. There were 145 infants (ages 12 to 20 months) and their mothers (and 83 fathers) who participated in the study. Parents completed questionnaires, were interviewed about their relationship with the baby, and were observed with their infants in the Strange Situation. Infants in separated/divorced families who had regular overnight visits with father (n = 44) were significantly less likely to be classified as secure and more likely to be classified as disorganized or unclassifiable in their attachment to mother than infants in a married comparison group (n = 52). Attachment classification to father was unrelated to visiting (time-sharing) arrangements, but infants were significantly more likely to be classified disorganized/unclassifiable with father in the separated/divorced groups (n = 39) than in dual-parent families (n = 44). Disorganized attachment to mother in the Overnight group was associated with maternal reports of low parent communication and high parent conflict, and with low maternal psychological protection of the infant, assessed from maternal interviews. Consistent with Bowlby's and Rutter's context-sensitive views of the effects of separation, the results suggest that repeated overnight separations from the primary caregiver are associated with disruption in mother-infant attachment when the conditions of visitation are poor, i.e. when parents are unable to provide adequate psychological support to the child.

The effects on attachment of overnight visitation in divorced and separated families

Infant Behavior & Development, 1996

Defining the caregiving system: Toward a theory of caregiving

Tradition-a Journal of Orthodox Jewish Thought, 1996

The caregiving system in mothers of infants: A comparison of divorcing and married mothers

Attachment & Human Development, 1999

Representational models of relationships: Links between caregiving and attachment

Tradition-a Journal of Orthodox Jewish Thought, 1996

According lo attachmeni theory, the child's attachment behavioral system is complemenied by a rec... more According lo attachmeni theory, the child's attachment behavioral system is complemenied by a reciprocal caregiving system in the paicni. Going beyond curreni descriptions of caregiving as a set of discrete parental behaviors and altitudes thai are related to aliachment. we have sought to describe caregiving as a behavioral system thai is organized in its own right. Examination interviews of 32 morhere of 6-year old children, we found a significant correspondence between matemal internal working models of caregiving on the dimensions of secure base, rejection, uncertainty, and helplessness and [heir children's attachment classification. A significant concordance between caregiving classification and adult attachment classification and between adult attachment classification and child attachment classification was also found. The relation between child attachment, adult attachment, and the caregiving system is discussed.

Children classified as controlling at age six: Evidence of disorganized representational strategies and aggression at home and at school

Development and Psychopathology, 1995

The purpose of this study was to determine whether children classified as controlling in attachme... more The purpose of this study was to determine whether children classified as controlling in attachment differ from children classified into the traditional Ainsworth attachment categories in their symbolic representations of attachment and level of behavior problems. Sixty-nine middle-class kindergarten children and their mothers participated in a laboratory separation and reunion. Children enacted doll-play stories about attachment-related themes. A four-group representation classification scheme was developed from the doll-play transcripts of 27 children. Mothers (n = 44) completed Achenbach's Chiid Behavior Checklist and teachers (n = 40) completed a 30-item inventory of classroom behavior. Results showed significant agreement between the representational system and Main and Cassidy's classification system (1988) for children's reunion behavior. The doll-play of controlling children was characterized by themes of calastrophe and helplessness or by complete inhibition of play and suggested disorganization of representational processes. Controlling children also were described by mothers and teachers as significantly more aggressive than other children. The results validate the distinction berween the controlling and traditional classification groups and suggest that controlling children are at risk for behavioral maiadaptation at home and at school'

The disorganized attachment-caregiving system: Dysregulation of adaptive processes at multiple levels

by judith solomon and Carol George

For all objects and experiences, rhere is a quantity that has an optimum value. Above that quanti... more

The Attachment Doll Play Assessment: Predictive Validity with Concurrent Mother-Child Interaction and Maternal Caregiving Representations

Frontiers in psychology, 2016

Attachment is central to the development of children's regulatory processes. It has been asso... more Attachment is central to the development of children's regulatory processes. It has been associated with developmental and psychiatric health across the life span, especially emotional and behavioral regulation of negative affect when stressed (Schore, 2001; Schore and Schore, 2008). Assessment of attachment patterns provides a critical frame for understanding emerging developmental competencies and formulating treatment and intervention. Play-based attachment assessments provide access to representational models of attachment, which are regarded in attachment theory as the central organizing mechanisms associated with stability or change (Bowlby, 1969/1982; Bretherton and Munholland, 2008). The Attachment Doll Play Assessment (ADPA, George and Solomon, 1990-2016; Solomon et al., 1995) is a prominent established representational attachment measure for children aged early latency through childhood. This study examines the predictive validity of the ADPA to caregiving accessibilit...

The disorganized attachment-caregiving system: Dysregulation of adaptive processes at multiple levels

For all objects and experiences, rhere is a quantity that has an optimum value. Above that quanti... more

Disorganization of Maternal Caregiving Across Two Generations: The Origins of Caregiving Helplessness

Internal working models of caregiving and security of attachment at age six

Tradition-a Journal of Orthodox Jewish Thought, 1989

Abstract This study describes the relation between internal working models of caregiving, child a... more

The development of caregiving: A comparison of attachment theory and psychoanalytic approaches to mothering

Psychoanalytic Inquiry, 1999

The development of attachment in separated and divorced families

Attachment & Human Development, 1999

This study represents the first systematic investigation of the effects on infant attachment to m... more This study represents the first systematic investigation of the effects on infant attachment to mother and to father of the increasingly common practice of overnight visitation (time-sharing) with the father in separated and divorced families. There were 145 infants (ages 12 to 20 months) and their mothers (and 83 fathers) who participated in the study. Parents completed questionnaires, were interviewed about their relationship with the baby, and were observed with their infants in the Strange Situation. Infants in separated/divorced families who had regular overnight visits with father (n = 44) were significantly less likely to be classified as secure and more likely to be classified as disorganized or unclassifiable in their attachment to mother than infants in a married comparison group (n = 52). Attachment classification to father was unrelated to visiting (time-sharing) arrangements, but infants were significantly more likely to be classified disorganized/unclassifiable with father in the separated/divorced groups (n = 39) than in dual-parent families (n = 44). Disorganized attachment to mother in the Overnight group was associated with maternal reports of low parent communication and high parent conflict, and with low maternal psychological protection of the infant, assessed from maternal interviews. Consistent with Bowlby's and Rutter's context-sensitive views of the effects of separation, the results suggest that repeated overnight separations from the primary caregiver are associated with disruption in mother-infant attachment when the conditions of visitation are poor, i.e. when parents are unable to provide adequate psychological support to the child.

The effects on attachment of overnight visitation in divorced and separated families

Infant Behavior & Development, 1996

Defining the caregiving system: Toward a theory of caregiving

Tradition-a Journal of Orthodox Jewish Thought, 1996

The caregiving system in mothers of infants: A comparison of divorcing and married mothers

Attachment & Human Development, 1999

Representational models of relationships: Links between caregiving and attachment

Tradition-a Journal of Orthodox Jewish Thought, 1996

According lo attachmeni theory, the child's attachment behavioral system is complemenied by a rec... more According lo attachmeni theory, the child's attachment behavioral system is complemenied by a reciprocal caregiving system in the paicni. Going beyond curreni descriptions of caregiving as a set of discrete parental behaviors and altitudes thai are related to aliachment. we have sought to describe caregiving as a behavioral system thai is organized in its own right. Examination interviews of 32 morhere of 6-year old children, we found a significant correspondence between matemal internal working models of caregiving on the dimensions of secure base, rejection, uncertainty, and helplessness and [heir children's attachment classification. A significant concordance between caregiving classification and adult attachment classification and between adult attachment classification and child attachment classification was also found. The relation between child attachment, adult attachment, and the caregiving system is discussed.

Children classified as controlling at age six: Evidence of disorganized representational strategies and aggression at home and at school

Development and Psychopathology, 1995

The purpose of this study was to determine whether children classified as controlling in attachme... more The purpose of this study was to determine whether children classified as controlling in attachment differ from children classified into the traditional Ainsworth attachment categories in their symbolic representations of attachment and level of behavior problems. Sixty-nine middle-class kindergarten children and their mothers participated in a laboratory separation and reunion. Children enacted doll-play stories about attachment-related themes. A four-group representation classification scheme was developed from the doll-play transcripts of 27 children. Mothers (n = 44) completed Achenbach's Chiid Behavior Checklist and teachers (n = 40) completed a 30-item inventory of classroom behavior. Results showed significant agreement between the representational system and Main and Cassidy's classification system (1988) for children's reunion behavior. The doll-play of controlling children was characterized by themes of calastrophe and helplessness or by complete inhibition of play and suggested disorganization of representational processes. Controlling children also were described by mothers and teachers as significantly more aggressive than other children. The results validate the distinction berween the controlling and traditional classification groups and suggest that controlling children are at risk for behavioral maiadaptation at home and at school'

The disorganized attachment-caregiving system: Dysregulation of adaptive processes at multiple levels

by judith solomon and Carol George

For all objects and experiences, rhere is a quantity that has an optimum value. Above that quanti... more